R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 73

Ireland — Dublin; Sights around town

Today let’s just take in the sights around Dublin, shall we? Starting with a closeup of the Stiffy on the Liffey:

Looking east on N. Earl Street between O’Connell and Marlborough:

Time for a little reflection:

On O’Connell Street looking upward:

A pilgrimage for some coming to Ireland:

And:

What’s hiding behind these rooftops?

St. Patrick’s Tower, of course:

This may look like a glass church spire:

But St. James’ Church is now a ...

Ireland — Dublin; Pearse Lyons Distillery

St. Patrick’s Tower, a former tower mill about 1,200 feet/365 meters east of Pearse Lyons Distillery:

I mentioned in last Wednesday’s blog article that I would be showing you more of the Pearse Lyons Distillery. Well, today’s the day. This is the main tour entrance, which is next door to the converted St. James’ Church, which Mr. Pearse Lyons purchased in 2014:

But let’s head on over to St. James’ and look around. When you first enter you’re into the narthex (atrium) and nave (cent...

Fun Photo Friday — Dublin Favorites Part 1

Danishness in Bright Yellow

Including this week, I’ll be running a total of four weeks’ worth of articles on Dublin before we continue on to another Irish destination. That means this week’s Fun Photo Friday is the first of four featuring Dublin favorites.

Reflections on Dublin Wings and Fascio Dublin Color Lookin’ Down the Street Whiskey in Glass at the Old Church

Ireland — Dublin; Getting Our Bearings

Let’s continue where we left off on Monday. That would be Ha’penny Bridge on the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland:

River Liffey as seen from Ha’penny Bridge

And as I mentioned on Monday, Ha’penny Bridge is a great place to just people watch for a bit:

Pedestrians on Ha’penny Bridge

Heading into the Temple Bar district you’ll find a lot of great places to eat:

Street-side menu

By the way, our favorite restaurant in this area is Quays Irish Restaurant — reasonably priced with grea...

Ireland — Day 1 in Dublin

This week begins a new travel photography series. It begins with a two-day stay in Dublin, Ireland. After that we flew to Amsterdam to catch a Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas, on which we headed to . . . Ireland. During this series I’ll be showing you many sights in both Ireland and Northern Ireland, after which we’ll go transatlantic to Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Reaching Tampa, I’m going to keep you captive for a back-to-back aboard Brilliance of the Seas for a look at the Mayan...

Fun Firearms Friday — First Look: Ruger® AR-556® MPR

We’re finishing up “M” Week at the blog. Monday was Mosin. Wednesday we ran with Marlin. Today’s “M” is for Ruger’s MPR version of their AR-556.

I finally gave in to the AR-style rifle bug. But give in I did, after a lot of research. I had no desire to ever travel this road again, and I didn’t want to make a mistake, so I studied for months. Along the way I discovered a lot of information that directed me towards today’s subject — the Ruger AR-556 MPR (Multi-Purpose Rifle).

What were t...

Western Wednesday — Marlin® Model 1894C

It’s still “M” Week at the blog, and today’s “M” stands for that classic American maker of lever-action rifles — Marlin.

Marlin Model 1894C in .38 SPL/.357 Magnum

Yes. It’s true. I have a soft spot for Old West-style firearms, as you may have surmised by now with my numerous articles on them (Winchester Rifles — Part 1; Winchester Rifles — Part 2; The Rifleman’s Rifle; Firearms — Television Westerns from the 1950s; A Tribute to Mike DiMuzio and a Look at the Interarms Rossi M92 in .45 Colt...

Military Monday — A trio of Mosins

A 1938 Mosin Model 91/30 (bottom) and a 1943 Model 91/30

Travel and photography resume next week. Until then:

Welcome to “M” Week at the blog: Mosins, Marlins, and MPRs.

First it’s Military Monday, and we’re going to spend some quality time looking over a trio of Mosin’s 3-Line Rifles Model 1891. Russian versions only today, because there are just too many other variants out there to cover in one short blog article — Finnish, Polish, Chinese, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Romanian, an...

Sunset Series — Week 5 Part 3

Found on My Desk . . .